A WORD FROM THE MAYOR – WALDECK CASTLE: WHAT NEXT?
After Ramstein (2010) in Baerenthal and Falkenstein (summer 2013) in Philippsbourg, the ruins of Waldeck Castle have in turn seen the end of the works to make them safe, which mainly involved the masonry, the railings and the lightning conductor. As a reminder, the work to renovate the Waldeck will have cost €408,800 excluding VAT. This amount is funded 7% by the ONF, 27% by the département council, 30% by the State and 36% by the regional council. The municipality acted as intermediary, paying the invoices for the operation (nearly €488,000). To cover the expenditure, it first took out a €200,000 credit line, already repaid thanks to the grant instalments received so far from the various funders, and then a bridging loan which, contrary to initial forecasts, will be limited to about €182,000 and will be repaid before July 2014. The municipality will nonetheless have borne a cost of about €22,000 itself (interest on the loans plus the difference between the 19.6% VAT it advanced and the 15.48% refunded by the State two years later). Not counted here are the many hours of meetings, secretarial and accounting work, preparing files and site visits by the municipality’s representatives… nor should we forget the important work of the Northern Vosges Regional Park, which from 2006 prepared the excellent applications that made the projects on all 3 castles possible… At the risk of repeating myself, we thank Baerenthal Town Hall, which took on the responsibilities and tasks of joint procurement for the 3 castles with exemplary efficiency.
Making the three castles safe will have cost more than a million euros. Such an investment would be fruitless (a pure loss) if it did not lead to very significant tourist and cultural development in our area. There is tourism when visitors stay several days, spending nights in hotels, guest houses, campsites… and jobs are created in catering and in services such as ticketing, cloakrooms, shops, cafés and guided tours (guides and lecturers)… Visitors and tourists want to discover our landscapes, our history, our identity…
Neighbouring Alsace has nearly 80 medieval castles open to visitors. The jewel among them, Haut-Kœnigsbourg, had 521,340 visitors in 2011, while Lichtenberg ranked 34th with 21,740 visitors. This shows how castles can drive tourist development… The Bas-Rhin Tourist Development Agency is setting up a 3-year programme to network the Alsace sites and bring them to life. Now that the Pays de Bitche castles have been renovated, it is in the interest of our département and regional councils, the State, our municipality and above all our Community of Municipalities – which is responsible for tourism development – to join this programme. In Alsace, voluntary associations show great energy in promoting local history and castles. But the Pays de Bitche is not to be outdone. Organisations such as the local section of the History and Archaeology Society, the Friends of the Forest, the Club Vosgien and above all La Joubarbe – which, let us remember, was the first, more than 10 years ago, to campaign for the ruins to be made safe – are all assets that will help us win this bet.
Emile Eitel
DRIVEWAY WORKS
When an owner has work done on the driveway to their garage, it may seem “logical” to do the verge of the municipal road in front of the property at the same time. In that case, the asphalt, paving or gravel starts on municipal land.
It goes without saying that before starting work, not after, you should contact the municipality, as owner, to get permission to work on its land and, if it agrees, to settle how the work will be done and what share of the cost the Town Hall will pay – a share proportional to the area treated.
The municipality does not have to pay if this procedure has not been followed and an individual works on public land and presents the Town Hall with a fait accompli. Thank you for your understanding.
MUNICIPAL COUNCIL IN BRIEF – MEETING OF 11 OCTOBER 2013
- Sale of plot no. 4 on the Petite-Suisse estate (confirming the decision of 9 August 2013) at €3,000 per are.
- Purchase of land at Heckenthal, in Bitche, section 28, plot 21, covering 18.65 ares, at €30 per are.
- Amendment to the M14 operating budget: staff pay: -€2,500; loan interest: +€2,500.
- Right of pre-emption waived on the sale of a built property at Bellerstein.
FRIENDSHIP BRIOCHES
The sale of friendship brioches on behalf of UNAPEI, to raise awareness of learning disabilities, held on 12 and 13 October 2013, raised €479. After deducting the €204 cost of the brioches, the net result was €275.
Thank you to the volunteers who made it a success, and to the donors. The campaign will be repeated in 2014, as it brings together the public, people with learning disabilities and volunteers.
SORTING YOUR WASTE IS GOOD… REDUCING IT IS BETTER!
By putting a “No junk mail” sticker on your letterbox, you can reduce your waste by 35 kg per person per year.
NOTICE TO RESIDENTS: DISRUPTION DUE TO WORKS
The low-voltage network in rue du Moulin will be replaced and extended. The work is scheduled from 12 to 22 November 2013 and may occasionally require the road to be closed.
The Lindel road from Bannstein to Mouterhouse will undergo works until 21 November 2013 and will be closed.
SENIORS: STAY SAFE WITH THE RIGHT REFLEXES
Simple precautions:
- Stay in touch with people who could help you if you have a problem.
- Keep useful phone numbers next to your phone.
- At night, keep a torch and your phone by your bed.
- Report anything suspicious to the gendarmerie.
Protecting yourself against burglary:
- Fit your door with a reliable lock, a spyhole and a door chain.
- Install automatic lighting, alarms or electronic security… Ask a specialist for advice.
- Change your lock if you lose your keys.
- Double-lock your door.
- Don’t leave the key in the inside lock of a glazed door.
- At night, avoid leaving windows open.
- Never leave your keys under the doormat, in the letterbox or in a flowerpot… Give them to someone you trust.
- Never leave a ladder or tools lying around in your garden.
- Don’t put your address on your key ring.
- On your letterbox, give only your surname, without your first name and without “widower”, “widow”, “Mrs” or “Miss”.
- Keep your jewellery, bank cards, handbag and car keys in a safe place away from the entrances. Beware! Piles of laundry are well-known hiding places for burglars. Photograph your valuables to help with searches. Note the serial numbers of equipment and keep invoices or valuations for valuable items.
If you are away for a long time:
- Tell your neighbours and friends.
- Ask someone you trust to empty your letterbox. An overflowing letterbox is a sign of a long absence.
- Your home should look lived in. Have the shutters opened in the morning. Use timers for lights, television and radio to give the impression someone is home.
- Don’t leave a message on your answering machine saying how long you will be away.
Guarding against bogus callers:
- If someone rings the intercom or knocks at your door, use the spyhole and the door chain.
- Be careful when gas, electricity or postal workers, internet or telephone engineers, police officers or gendarmes call at your home. Even if the person is in uniform, ask to see a professional card, work order or proof of the visit. If in doubt, don’t let them in.
- You can suggest another appointment so that you have time to make the necessary checks.
- If you call back to check, use the phone numbers you already have (usually on bills and statements), not those given by the caller.
- If you let someone in, try to have a neighbour present. Accompany them wherever they go in your home.
- Never reveal where you keep your jewellery, money or other valuables.
- Don’t be tricked into signing a document whose meaning or consequences are unclear to you. Ask to keep it unsigned so that you can study it calmly and/or ask someone you trust for advice. For any doorstep selling, you have a 7-day cooling-off period.
All this advice is taken from a Ministry of the Interior notice received by the Town Hall at the end of September 2013.
EGUELSHARDT 1950
This wonderful photo, taken in 1950 when the Pays de Bitche had not yet fully recovered from the ravages of war, shows timber being transported by Mr Auguste Mischler, well liked in our village. Under his guidance, his two magnificent oxen are hauling a spruce log to the Werner sawmill, which at that time still operated at the Papiermuehle in Eguelshardt before moving to Bitche. The huge spruce trunk, measuring 6 cubic metres, came from the Hanau forest, east of the hamlet of Waldeck.
In 1950 Mr Mischler was 18 years old; 63 years have passed since then. After oxen, he used horses to haul timber, before moving on to ever more powerful tractors. The healthy air of our forests must keep their workers going, because even today you can still sometimes see Mr Mischler, now 81, at the wheel of a big tractor pulling a load of firewood logs.
MULTI-STREAM COLLECTION
In Eguelshardt, the multi-stream collection:
- of Thursday 31 October 2013 is brought forward to Wednesday 30 October 2013;
- of Thursday 14 November 2013 is unchanged;
- of Thursday 26 December 2013 is postponed to Friday 27 December 2013;
- of Thursday 2 January 2014 is unchanged.
COMMUNAL FLAT TO LET
The municipality is looking for a tenant for its flat on the upper floor of the Town Hall, with 3 rooms and a kitchen. The rent is €420 a month, excluding service charges. Please ask at the Town Hall.
11 NOVEMBER COMMEMORATION
The mayor will lay a wreath at 11am, in the presence of the municipal council and the whole population, who are warmly invited, followed by a drink in the Town Hall. We are counting on you.